Grit, hustle and a stable income: welcome to the entrepreneurial life.

There is no denying the risk that comes with quitting your full-time job to launch the startup of your dreams, which is why many founders are choosing to remain employed while getting their idea off the ground.

In a new report from Startup Muster, the largest survey of Australian startups, 47 percent of businesses were started by people working part-time, with 25 percent currently holding a job outside their startup.

The 2016 survey respondents included both founders and also people considering launching a startup as well as businesses that support startups including accelerators and incubators.

Monica Wulff, CEO of Startup Muster, explains that the aim of the report was to improve understanding of not just the current startup ecosystem in Australia, but also the future ecosystem.

"The Government is committed to helping our startups and small businesses continue to grow," Wulff said in a statement.

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"As our economy transitions we need more jobs, opportunities to trade, and investment. The startup community is an essential tool to help us achieve that."

Interestingly, the largest group of founders were aged between 35-40 while the largest group of 'future founders' were aged 40-45.

The survey looked at the last startup each respondent founded, with just over half still in operation.

Male founders are far more common, with just 23 percent of founders being female in 2016. However, over the past three years the number of female founders has been on the rise, which is somewhat encouraging.

On the whole, the majority of founders have a Bachelors degree of some kind.

As for the most common piece of advice founders have for future founders? Validate your idea before pursuing it.